Carpet stretcher and tacker



(No Model.)

J. O. DALE. CARPET STRETGHER AND TAGKER.

No. 549,445. Patented Nov. 5, 1895.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEicE.

JOHN oALvIN DALE, or MANHATTAN, KANsAs.

CARPET STRETCHER AND TACKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 549,445, dated November 5, 1895.

Application filed May 16, 1895. Serial No, 549,594. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN CALVIN DALE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Manhattan, in the county of Riley and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carpet Stretchers and Tackers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the in vention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in carpet stretchers and tackers, and its novelty and advantages will be fully understood from the following description and claim, when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved device with parts broken away. Fig. 2 is a detail inverted plan view showing the jaws in their normal position. Fig. 3 is a detail transverse section, on an enlarged scale, taken through the jaws.

Referring by letter to said drawings, H indicates the body or main frame of the carpetstretcher, which comprises suitable side bars and suitable cross-bars, the foremost one S of which is provided with depending barbs designed to engage the carpet when the same is stretched.

V indicates the handle, which is suitably connected to the rear portion of the body or main frame.

B indicates the hammer, which has its handle or shank B fulcrumed at an intermediate point of its length and adjacent to its rear end between the side bars of frame H.

D indicates a flat spring, which is fixedly connected to the upper side of the handle V and is designed to exert an upward pressure against the rear end U of the hammer-shank B, so as to force the hammer downwardly.

M indicates a lever connected with the frame H.

G indicates a hand-lever, which is loosely connected to handle V and is also connected with the lever M by a link L, and N indicates a gravitating hook, which is pivotally connected to the lever M and is designed and adapted to engage the lug K on the hammershank B. By virtue of this construction it will be observed that when the lever M is moved suffi ciently far forward through the medium of the hand-lever G and connectingrod L the hook N will automatically engage the lug K, and when the lever M is drawn backward it will raise the hammer a certain distance and will then automatically release the same. The hammer is raised against the pressure of the flat spring D, and consequently when said hammer is released the spring will carry it downwardly with sufficent force to drive a tack well through the carpet and into the floor.

E indicates an inclined tack-chute, which has a longitudinal slot in its under side and is supported at its rear end by a support 00, connected with and rising from the handle V, while its forward end is connected with the cross-bar b of the main frame.

E indicates a tack-holding jaw, which is pivotally connected to the frame-bar b and has the semicircular recess 0 in the upper side of its inner edge adjacent to its forward edge, as shown, and the recess din said inner edge, and R'indicates another tack-engaging jaw, which is fulcrumed on the crossbar b and is provided with recesses c d similar to those of jaw E, the recesses cl being designed when the jaws are in the position illustrated in Fig. 2 to form an angular opening F for the reception of the tack-shanks.

The jaws are normally held in and returned to the position shown in Fig. 2 by the elastic band 0, and their contiguous edges are grooved, as shown in Fig. 3, to form a way which is a continuation of the chute E and is designed to receive the tack-heads and leadnected to the jaw R and the branch g, which has its forward edge beveled, and the branch h, which is disposed at right angles to the body f and is carried over and bent under the chute E, so as to form the branch P in alignment with the branch 9, which branch P has its rear edge beveled and is designed to normally rest across the slot in chute E,

as shown. By reason of this construction it will be readily observed that when the hammer B forcibly descends between the jaws E R it will rock the latter jaw, so as to move the device T in the direction indicated by arrow in Fig. 2 and permit a single tack to pass between the branches g I, and when the hammeris raised, as before described,the elastic band 0 will return the device T to the position shown in Fig. 2, so as to prevent any more tacks from passing between the jaws until the hammer again descends.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that with my improved device a carpet may be conveniently stretched and tacked by a single person, and it will also be appreciated that the device is very cheap and simple and embodies no parts that are likely to get out of order after short use.

llaving described my invention what I claim is The carpet stretcher and tacker described comprising the body or main frame provided with depending barbs, the handle connected to said body or main frame, the hammer having its shank fulcrumed at an intermediate point in its length in the body or main frame and provided with a lug K, the lever M, connected with the body, the gravitating hook pivotally connected to the lever M, and

adapted to engage the lug K, of the hammer shank, the lever G, connected with the handle, a link connecting the levers G, and M, the spring connected to the handle and extending beneath and adapted to exert; an upward pressure against the rear end of the hammer shank, the forwardly and downwardly inclined tack chute E, having a longitudinal slot in its under side, the jaw E, pivoted at its rear end in advance of the tack chute and having the groove in its inner edge, and also having recesses c, d, the jaw R, also pivoted at its rear end in advance of the tack chute and having a groove in its inner edge and also having recesses c, (I, the device '1, having the body portion f, connected to the jaw R, the angular branch g, provided with the forward beveled edge and the angular branch 71, which extends over and under the chute and terminates in the beveled branch I, adapted to normally extend across the slot in the chute and an elastic device for normally holding the device '1, in such position that the branch P, will rest across the slot in the chute, all. substantially as specified.

JOHN CALVIN DALE. \Vitnesses:

L. R. ELLIOTT, E. 1%. ELLIOTT. 

